


Tomorrow Today

by Leebot



Category: Mai-HiME
Genre: Christmas, F/F, Fantasy, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-17
Updated: 2017-10-22
Packaged: 2018-09-09 02:32:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8872357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leebot/pseuds/Leebot
Summary: Natsuki awakens five years into the future, getting a glimpse of where she might be headed and the relationship in her future.





	1. Today

**Author's Note:**

> Happy holidays everyone! I know I haven't been writing as much lately, but these two lovely ladies and all my fans still mean so much to me that I just had to come back. This fic will probably have just one more chapter to it, unless it ends up going long, and I hope to have that out by Christmas day.
> 
> A special thanks to everyone who's commented on my fics in the past year - It really warms my heart to see people still enjoying my work, even now.
> 
> Enjoy!

It took Natsuki's mind a few minutes to realize that something wasn't right. With nothing urgent like an alarm or Orphan attack to wake her up, her body defaulted to being a slow waker, which meant that for most of those few minutes, she was simply comfortably dozing in bed, snuggled up with what she thought was a pillow. It wasn't until she shifted her position that she realized that the pillow was a fair bit more human-shaped than she was expecting, and her face was currently buried in her bedmate's soft, sweet-smelling hair.

Problem is, she was pretty sure she had not gone to bed with anyone else the previous night… or any night since she was a kid, for that matter. The last thing she remembered was lying down for a well-earned good night's sleep after dealing with an Orphan that had gotten loose in downtown Fuuka. So either someone had sneaked into her room overnight and she'd snuggled up with them - possible, but very unlikely given her building's security system - or she'd somehow lost at least a day's worth of memory, at the end of which she'd gone to bed with someone else - again, possible but unlikely. She'd heard of people - which is to say, Midori-sensei - getting so drunk they lost memories, but she'd never heard of it affecting anything from before they started drinking. It might still have been possible… but even drunk, how could she have ended up in bed with someone else?

She didn't sense any danger right now, but if there was something going wrong, that might change. Probably best to play it cool and try not to alarm the person she was sharing this bed with. Maybe she was at this person's home - this certainly didn't feel like her own bed, after all - and she could sneak out before she was noticed.

Natsuki pulled her head back from her bedmate's hair, then peeled her eyes open and gave them a chance to adjust to the dim light. This definitely wasn't her own bedroom. Okay, time to escape and pretend this never happened. Moving slowly in the hopes that she wouldn't awaken her bedmate, Natsuki began by peeling her right arm back from the hug. That was the easy part, though - her left arm was pinned beneath the other person, so it would be a lot harder to remove without waking them. Damn it, why did she have to be such a cuddly sleeper?

Letting out a sigh, Natsuki shifted her weight on the bed to try to make room for her arm to easily slide out. It helped a bit, but she still found herself making more contact with this other person than she was comfortable with. As she did this, part of her mind began to wonder just who this was, but she pushed it aside. The less she knew, the better. That would make it all the easier to pretend none of this had ever happened. She was at least slightly relieved to find that both she and her bedmate were wearing nightgowns right now, as that meant things probably hadn't gone too far, but she let that be the end of her thoughts on the matter. With any luck, this person would have gotten just as drunk as Natsuki and wouldn't remember any of this either.

"Mm… Morning, Suki…" spoke a mumbled voice. Even as sleepy as that voice was, its sound was one very familiar to Natsuki: Fujino Shizuru, the only person in her life she'd actually call a friend, although she'd never once called Natsuki "Suki" before. It was possibly just a result of her mumbling sleepily, though.

Natsuki had to resist the urge to curse as thoughts rushed through her head. Shizuru definitely remembered the previous night if she knew that it was Natsuki in bed with her, and she was the one person who would _never_ let her forget this. Already, Natsuki could feel her cheeks filling with warmth as she imagined the teasing she would get for this. Was there any possible way out?

She could accuse Shizuru of taking advantage of her… which might have been the case, but her heart told her it probably wasn't. Natsuki getting drunk and stupid was still more likely. But with Shizuru here, that did raise the possibility that Natsuki had gotten injured in a fight with an Orphan, maybe getting hit in the head and losing her memory, and Shizuru had taken care of her. That… the lack of any noticeable physical injuries aside, was probably the best explanation. She could forgive Shizuru sharing a bed with her in that case, if she'd needed it.

"Um, Shizuru…?" Natsuki said. She bit her bottom lip for a moment as she waited to make sure Shizuru was awake enough to understand her. "Did something happen to me last night?"

Shizuru was silent for a few seconds, and Natsuki briefly wondered if she hadn't heard her. But then she rolled over onto her back and turned her head. "Natsuki doesn't remember?" she said with a raised eyebrow.

"...No…" Natsuki said. "Um, was I hurt?" Hopefully it wasn't anything too serious… she certainly didn't feel any ill effects right now, at least.

Shizuru's eyebrow rose even higher on her forehead. "Ara? No, Natsuki was very heroic… I don't think she got even a single scratch on her when she took down that mugger."

"Wait… what!?" Natsuki said, nearly jumping out of bed as she heard this. She had absolutely zero memory of that, and it didn't give any explanation as to why she might have lost her memory. For that matter, what was she doing with Shizuru where they might have gotten mugged? They'd never met up outside of school before. And why would she have come home with Shizuru if she wasn't injured, or even drunk?

Shizuru winced at this outburst, prompting an immediate pang of guilt in Natsuki's heart. Shizuru's expression quickly turned to concern, though. "Is something the matter, Natsuki?" she asked.

"Umm…" Where to start? Natsuki glanced away, looking around the room in the private hope that perhaps escape was still an option. It wasn't though, she had to remind herself. For better or worse, Shizuru wasn't going to forget this. But maybe she'd just let it drop, if Natsuki told her to forget all about it… whatever it was. However Natsuki had ended up losing her memory and in bed with Shizuru. ...Okay, that really didn't sound like something that could simply be ignored. Natsuki glanced back at Shizuru and said, "Could you… tell me what happened after that? How did we end up back here… you know… together…?"

Okay, Shizuru was definitely concerned now. "We came home together," she said slowly, "and then… not much. You were pretty tired, so you went to bed early. I got a bit of work done, and then came to join you."

Natsuki's eyes steadily widened as she heard this. It was pretty much a losing battle to keep herself from panicking right now, but she had to at least try to keep her composure. "Okay," she said, forcing herself to breathe deeply and steadily. "I don't remember any of that. The last thing I remember is fighting off an Orphan in downtown Fuuka, then going home… Not here, my apartment… alone."

Shizuru blinked a couple times. "Ara, Natsuki… there haven't been any Orphan attacks in years now. And it's been just as long since your apartment was destroyed."

This did it. Natsuki pushed herself back from Shizuru and scrambled to her feet. She'd been assuming she'd only lost a day or so of memory, but years!? That was… there was no way. And what the hell had happened in that time? Why had the Orphan attacks stopped, and why was she living with Shizuru now? "Okay, Shizuru, if this is some type of tease, it's not funny," Natsuki said. She could feel her blood pulsing in her neck as she spoke. "Seriously. Cut it out."

Natsuki held Shizuru's gaze for what felt like minutes. Her friend's expression made it obvious this was no tease. It was also obvious that Shizuru was hurting right now, though Natsuki was hard-pressed to determine why. Slowly, Shizuru pushed herself up from the bed, and she stepped toward Natsuki. She reached a hand out toward Natsuki's shoulder, but Natsuki instinctively pulled back. Another pang of hurt appeared in Shizuru's expression, but this time her friend tried to cover it up. "Natsuki…" she said. "Whatever's happening, please let me help you figure it out."

Natsuki broke Shizuru's gaze, forcing herself to look downward so she could try to concentrate. Deep breath in, deep breath out, repeat… Okay. She could handle this. "Shizuru… I don't even know if any of this is real right now. For all I know, I've been attacked by some Orphan which has trapped me in an illusion, and I need to break out of it."

A few seconds of silence, and then Shizuru spoke, "Alright," she said.

Natsuki looked back up at Shizuru. "Wait, really?"

Shizuru nodded. "I know I'm not an illusion, but I can't expect you to believe that. And I know of at least one… 'Orphan' that can do something like that, so I understand why you're concerned. I'll just have to find some way to convince you that this isn't an illusion, and then we can figure out what really is happening."

Natsuki's eyes blinked rapidly. There was something odd about the way Shizuru had said "Orphan," and… wait, how did Shizuru even know about Orphans at all? "Oi!" she said. "Don't pretend to know what I'm talking about with Orphans just to placate me!"

Shizuru's eyebrows raised for a moment, and then she gave Natsuki a soothing smile. "Ara… My mistake. I should have remembered: The Orphan attacks stopped before Natsuki learned that I was a HiME too. Of course you wouldn't expect me to know any of this."

Shizuru… was a HiME too? That was… not impossible. Natsuki shook her head. "Okay, fine, whatever. The point is, if this is an illusion, I have to break out of it." Natsuki paused, her eyes glancing from side to side for a moment. "How do I do that?"

"Hmm…" Shizuru furrowed her brow for a moment. "Let me see… I know Mai-san was able to break out on her own… Haa, forgive me, Natsuki. I don't know if I ever heard how she did it, or if I might have forgotten. It's been quite a long time now."

Of course it wouldn't be that easy. With a slow nod, Natsuki said, "It's alright, Shizuru. If you are part of the illusion, I'm not sure I'd want to trust you anyway. Okay…" Well, if she could break out on her own, what could she do? She was already questioning if this was an illusion, and that didn't seem to be doing anything to help break it. So what did that leave?

Well, there was one obvious thing to try. Natsuki reached over and gave her forearm a sharp pinch, followed immediately by wincing from the pain. Okay, so it was at least more real than a dream. Unless… Was it really impossible to feel pain in a dream, or was that just a myth? She couldn't exactly remember testing that out for herself. She was pretty sure that dying in a dream would force you to wake up, but she wasn't exactly keen to try that one out here. Besides, even if this were an illusion, her dying in it might just be the goal of whatever was causing it.

"Ara, Natsuki?" Shizuru said. Natsuki looked up, seeing that her friend had moved to the door. "I'm going to go make some breakfast. Is there anything you'd like?" The expression in Shizuru's face showed lingering concern, but it looked like she was resolved now to push forward.

Maybe that was it. "Something I've never had before," Natsuki said. "Er, that is, something I never had before I lost my memories. A dream or illusion can't come up with something new like that, right?" She wasn't entirely certain that was the case, but it seemed logical, especially with a taste. Her mind could easily conjure up a sight or sound, but she couldn't exactly imagine a taste in the same way.

A sparkle appeared in Shizuru's eyes at this. "I know just the thing," she said with a grin. Winking at Natsuki, she ducked off through the doorway.

Natsuki raised an eyebrow at this. She was curious what Shizuru would come up with, but in the meantime, perhaps she could look around the bedroom for information. She headed to the doorway and flipped the light switch, then turned around to take in the room.

It was obvious that Shizuru's decorating sense was at play here, judging by the subtle lilac design on the walls, though the room had far more of a Western layout than she might have expected from Shizuru. And it didn't seem to be only Shizuru's design sense here… the flat screen TV facing the bed certainly didn't seem like something Shizuru would set up.

Natsuki found her eyes drawn to the dresser, and the photos set up on top of it. Her and Shizuru, together in each one. One of the photos was a group shot with Mai, Mikoto, Yukino, and Haruka as well, but the others were of just her and Shizuru. Given that she'd woken up here, it really shouldn't have been a surprise to think that she and Shizuru might be roommates, but it was still hard to wrap her head around that possibility. Even if Shizuru was right, and Natsuki's apartment had been destroyed… this seemed a bit much. But in those photos, she really didn't appear to be awkward at all around Shizuru. She looked… was she actually happy?

"Breakfast is served, Natsuki," came Shizuru's voice from the doorway, causing Natsuki to nearly jump a foot in the air.

"Gah! Shizuru, what are you- I thought breakfast would take longer!" Natsuki said, trying to regain her composure and ignore the warmth rushing to her cheeks right now.

Shizuru raised an eyebrow at this, and it was quite obvious that she was working hard to stifle a laugh. It took nearly a minute before she spoke, and even then, her voice seemed uneven. "Well, this was rather simple. It just required toasting some bread."

Still embarrassed, Natsuki eagerly took the excuse to look away from Shizuru's face, focusing instead on the plate she held in front of her. Toast was indeed laid out on it, with some sort of thick brown syrupy substance on it. As Shizuru approached, the pungent smell from it seemed to be two steps ahead of her. Well, Natsuki had asked for something new, so she really shouldn't be surprised that she didn't recognize this. That didn't make her eager to taste it though.

"Okay…" Natsuki said. It honestly didn't look too appetizing, but then again, that wasn't the point. This might indeed be something she hated, but as long as it was new, she'd have proof that this wasn't just a dream, and probably not an illusion. She reached out and took the fork and knife from the plate, then cut herself a piece of the toast. Nervously, she brought it up to her mouth.

Natsuki didn't think it was possible to fit so much taste in so little substance. It was salty beyond measure, tasting like beefy soy sauce if she had to describe it. "Fuck, what is this?" Natsuki said with widened eyes. Even as she spoke, she found herself cutting another piece of the toast. She didn't know what this was, but she had to have more of it.

"It's called 'Marmite,'" Shizuru said. She was probably smiling, but Natsuki wasn't looking at her right now. "Natsuki first tried it when we went on our… vacation to New Zealand last year, and she hasn't been able to have enough of it since."

"Mm, I can see why…" Natsuki said. She grabbed the plate from Shizuru and moved back to the bed, taking a seat on it so she could rest the plate on her legs and have both hands free for her utensils.

"Ara, Natsuki?" Shizuru said. "Have you forgotten the reason you wanted to try this?"

"Hmm?" Natsuki looked back up at Shizuru, a piece of Marmite-covered toast halfway into her mouth. She pulled it in and chewed on it as she tried to rewind her thought process. "Mm!" Natsuki gulped down the toast and nodded. "So this is real then. Okay, so…" The excitement of discovering a new food she liked began to give way to concern. "So wait… that means I really have lost my memory… But how? You said nothing happened last night that could have caused this."

Shizuru approached Natsuki and sat down beside her on the bed. She placed a hand gently on Natsuki's knee and gave it a squeeze. The gesture was unusually intimate for Natsuki, but she didn't find herself recoiling from it. "I have some other ideas," she said. "Perhaps you can tell me everything that you remember from yesterday, starting from the Orphan attack, in as much detail as possible."

Natsuki furrowed her brow. She wasn't sure what Shizuru was getting at, but she was willing to play along. "Alright. Well, the Orphan… it was this black thing, kind of shaped like a person. I was returning home for the night on my bike, and I spotted it on the sidewalk attacking a woman. I gunned my bike straight for it, then I skidded to a stop and jumped off just as I reached the sidewalk. I summoned my Elements just as it ran off, trying to use my body to block them from view of anyone else on the street. I fired some shots at it as I ran it down, but it didn't seem to slow down any. It wasn't too fast though, so I was able to catch up to it before long.

"I was able to knock it to the ground and take it out with a shot to the head. After that, I turned back to check on the woman it had been attacking to make sure she was alright. She was fine, so I righted my bike and got ready to go home. Just as I was about to leave, the woman grabbed my arm, saying she insisted on thanking me for my help. I told her I didn't need any money, but she was insistent. She said something about finding another way to help me, and…" Natsuki paused, trying to dredge memories of words she wasn't really paying attention to at the time. "She said she could show me something as thanks… some nonsense about showing me what I was missing, I think?"

Natsuki looked over at Shizuru, who'd raised her eyebrow at this. "Natsuki," she said. "What day was it?"

"Christmas eve, 2004…" Natsuki said. "What day is today?"

"Christmas day, 2009," Shizuru said. "Exactly five years into the future for you. That doesn't sound like a coincidence, now does it?"

"No," Natsuki said, narrowing her eyes. "But… what does that mean?"

"I think…" Shizuru said. "It means that perhaps there was more to that woman you rescued than met the eye, and this is her way of thanking you."

"Thanking me!?" Natsuki said, nearly knocking the plate off of her lap as she reacted to this. "By stealing five years of my life?"

Shizuru shook her head. "I don't think that's it," she said. "My best guess right now is that she's showing you a day from your future, to give you a happier Christmas than you otherwise had planned."

Natsuki grit her teeth. She had to look away from Shizuru right now. Who was that woman to decide for her that her Christmas wasn't good enough? If she wanted to spend it alone, that was her choice. She didn't need anyone else for it, and the thought that someone else would force otherwise on her was frankly insulting. She took a deep breath to try to calm herself, but it wasn't going to be that easy. "Just… leave me alone right now, okay Shizuru?" she said.

"...okay…" Shizuru said. The tone of her voice caused a pang of pain in Natsuki, and she instinctively turned toward her friend. For just a moment, it looked like Shizuru's eyes might be tearing up, but before Natsuki could say for sure, Shizuru stood up and stepped away. Natsuki could hear her swallow heavily before she spoke again. "If Natsuki needs me, I'll be in the living room. It's… the one at the end of the hall, to the left."

"Wait," Natsuki said. She shot her hand out to grab Shizuru's and stop her friend from leaving right now. No matter what was going on, she couldn't stand to see Shizuru hurt like that… especially if she might be the cause. "Shizuru, I… It's just, I don't know what any of this is. I… I'm sorry, I just…"

"I understand, Natsuki," Shizuru said, her back still turned to Natsuki. "I know this has to be harder for you than it is for me, so I'll be strong for you if you need me to. Don't worry about me."

For a long while, Natsuki couldn't find the strength to say anything. She didn't let go of Shizuru's hand though. In fact, her gaze was focused on their clasped hands, where a twinkle of light had caught her eye. Her eyes focused on her own finger, for the first time noticing the ring on it.

Natsuki could feel her heart pounding in her chest. It was too much to take in right now, so she wasn't even going to try. But right now, she knew one thing: She wasn't going to let Shizuru be in pain like this. "Shizuru, please look at me," she said.

Slowly, Shizuru turned. Natsuki was right; she had been crying. And no wonder, with what had happened. But Natsuki was going to make the most of this, for Shizuru's sake if nothing else. She met her friend's eyes and gave her her best reassuring smile… not that she had much practice at that, so it probably didn't come across well, but she was trying, at least.

"Merry Christmas, Shizuru," Natsuki said. "I didn't have any plans for it, and it looks like yours might have fallen through, so… do you want to celebrate together?"

Shizuru nodded, a smile slowly spreading across her face.

_**To be continued...** _


	2. Tomorrow Morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is definitely going to be a bit longer than just two chapters. Have this one as a Christmas gift, and look forward to another one soon!
> 
> Thank you to everyone who left a comment on the previous chapter. It’s hard to believe so many people are still reading these fics even now. I’ll try my best not to disappoint you.

 

Natsuki slowly opened the door to the study, taking it in as it was gradually revealed to her. Even if it hadn’t been for what Shizuru had told her, she’d probably be going about this slowly. But after Shizuru told her that there was a special surprise here, Natsuki was even more apprehensive. And of course Shizuru had had to be a tease about it; five years wasn’t going to change that.

But as she opened the door, it wasn’t her eyes that noticed the surprise first, but her ears. Coming from inside the study, she heard the sound of something moving. Recollections of similar sounds came to her from deep within her mind. It couldn’t be, could it? Well… of course it could. It had been five years, after all.

Her heart pounding, Natsuki opened the door and looked around for the crate she knew had to be there. “Good morning… puppy,” she said, going back to her default until she learned this dog’s name. “Are you excited for Christmas?”

Natsuki’s eyes soon settled on a kneehigh dog crate in the corner of the room, just next to the desk. A smile spread across her face as she caught sight of the fluffy figure inside. Natsuki flipped the lightswitch and moved toward it, kneeling down in front of its crate. The little brown fluffball inside scrambled in place at the sight of her, pounding its paws playfully on the floor of its crate.

Well, that wouldn’t do at all. No way was she keeping this little one cooped up in there a second longer. Natsuki reached out to open the crate, and no sooner did she do so than did the dog push its way out. It excitedly came up to greet her, reaching up to give her hand some good-morning kisses. It turned its head to Natsuki and sat down, but just as she reached out to pat it, it dashed off, making a beeline straight for the door.

Chuckling, Natsuki got up and followed the dog to the kitchen. “I think someone’s hungry for breakfast too,” she said as she caught sight of Shizuru, who was currently preparing herself something to eat on the stove.

Shizuru turned her head back to Natsuki. “His name is Kiyoran,” she said. She smiled at Natsuki, though she looked like she still hadn’t quite emotionally recovered from earlier. “If you want to feed him, you can find his food in the top-left cupboard.”

Natsuki nodded. She didn’t head to the cabinet though; she was sure Kiyoran could wait a moment. Instead, she went to Shizuru. It shouldn’t have felt so awkward given how they’d woken up, but she was still a bit nervous. For her friend’s sake though, she pushed through. She reached out and wrapped her arms around her friend, embracing her in a hug from behind. “Hey,” she said. “Don’t worry. I know I’m not… the Natsuki you were hoping to spend Christmas with, but wherever she is, I’m sure you’ll have her back tomorrow.”

Shizuru didn’t reply immediately to this. Deciding that it was probably best not to press the issue, Natsuki released her from the hug and went to the cupboard. Just as she reached it, she heard Shizuru say, “Thank you, Natsuki.” Natsuki looked over, catching sight of a slight smile on Shizuru’s face. “You can give Kiyo-chan the wet food today; it is a special day after all.”

“Of course,” Natsuki said. This particular cupboard seemed to be mostly dog supplies, so it didn’t take her long to figure out which was the wet food. She pulled out a small plastic container and turned around, finding that Kiyoran was sitting patiently in front of his bowl, looking up at her with big, wet eyes. But as soon as he caught sight of the food that was in Natsuki’s hands, he began having trouble sitting still. Aside from his wagging tail and his tongue licking his lips, he managed it, though. “Hehe, I see someone’s trained you well,” Natsuki said as she opened up the container.

Natsuki knelt down and pushed the food out into Kiyoran’s bowl. Once the food was ready, he eagerly dug in. Smiling at him, Natsuki reached her hand out to ruffle the fur on his head as he ate. She’d only been planning to pat him for a moment, but she found her hand lingering there, wanting to get in as much time with him as possible. Back in her own time, she’d had Duran, but he was more of a partner than a pet. She didn’t realize until now just how much she missed having a pet dog.

“Um…” Natsuki said, standing back up and turning to Shizuru. “How old is he?” she asked.

“About three and a half years old,” Shizuru said, glancing over at Natsuki. “Why do you ask?”

“Just… wondering,” Natsuki said. She looked back down at the dog. Three and a half years… and this was five years into the future. He wasn’t even born yet in her time. If she did go back, she’d have to wait more than a year before she could see him again. And even that was assuming that this wasn’t some weird time travel thing, where going back after learning about the future would cause her to change things, and he might never even be born... 

Natsuki shook her head. No, there was no point obsessing about that kind of thing. She was just going to celebrate Christmas with Shizuru, and then whatever happened next, she’d deal with it. If she did go back to her own time, she’d certainly track down that woman who’d done this to her and give her a harsh word about asking before forcing this on someone, though.

“So!” Natsuki said, turning back to Shizuru and trying to focus back on today. “I know I already had some toast, but I think I can fit in a bit more food if you want to have breakfast together,” she said.

This was met with a raised eyebrow from Shizuru, who didn’t take her focus off of the stovetop as she responded. “Ara ara… I didn’t know that Natsuki found Kiyo-chan’s food so appetizing.”

“Wha- I don-” Natsuki started to say, then narrowed her gaze. “I was talking to you, baka, not the dog!”

Shizuru chuckled at this. She finally turned her head to look at Natsuki, and her expression made it quite clear that she was simply teasing. “Ara… I might enjoy having this Natsuki around today. The Natsuki I’m used to would never have fallen for such an obvious tease.”

Natsuki’s cheeks filled with warmth at this. “B-baka!” she sputtered, crossing her arms and turning away. Or at least, she tried to cross her arms, but the empty container of dog food still in her hand got in the way, and she ended up having to awkwardly readjust so that she didn’t end up crushing it against her chest, which kind of undermined her stance here. “Gah! Just tell me where the garbage bin is so I can throw this away, and then I’ll have breakfast with you - you,  _ Shizuru _ \- okay?”

“Mm, I’d like that very much, Natsuki,” Shizuru said, her voice somehow not betraying a hint of mirth. “You can find it just below the sink, and if you’d like to help set the table, the utensils are in the drawer to the right of it.”

Natsuki glanced back at Shizuru. How did she ever end up marrying this woman? She could be so infuriating. Although… as Natsuki’s eyes caught Shizuru, she had to admit that she felt a bit of warmth in her chest. Maybe it wasn’t all bad. Only mostly bad. Or… partly bad. Or… ...she really would need a few years to get used to it.

* * *

“Oh come on, don’t give me that look,” Natsuki said. “I might not be able to taste Marmite again for years. I have to get my fill today!”

“Haa, first of all,” Shizuru said, “We get it from the foreign foods section of the grocery store. It’s not that hard to find. Secondly, you’re not the Natsuki who’s going to have to suffer the consequences of overindulgence. And finally, it’s time for our gift exchange now, and I don’t want Natsuki to try juggling her presents and food.”

“Oh, um, right. Gifts…” Natsuki said. She reluctantly got up from the kitchen table and headed to the sink to clean her plate as she said this. “Umm… are you sure we should do that today? I mean, I’m not the one who got you whatever present you’re opening, and I’m not the one who’s going to get to keep whatever I open.”

Shizuru made room for Natsuki at the sink. She was silent for a bit as she finished cleaning her own plate. As she began to towel it off, she said, “That is a good point. But... it’s simply not Christmas without presents…” Shizuru let out a sigh as she put her plate on the drying rack.

“Er, well…” Natsuki said, trying to think up some solution. “There must be something we can do…”

It took a while for Shizuru to say anything. By the time she did, Natsuki had finished her washing up as well. “Okay, I think I have an idea,” Shizuru said. She was standing in the doorway to what looked like the living room now. “We can open the gifts that we each got for Kiyo-chan for a start. I’ll find something in the house that represents a special memory, and give the story of it to you as a gift. And… well, of course I don’t expect Natsuki to do that. But one idea I had was that she could write me a card, saying perhaps something about our time together as friends. If you have another idea, you can go with that instead, though.”

Natsuki’s eyes widened. She’d completely stumped herself trying to come up with a solution, but this would almost certainly solve it. She nodded eagerly. “Right. Um, that sounds like a great idea, Shizuru,” she said.

With a smile and a slight nod, Shizuru said, “I’ll go and get Natsuki some stationary so she can write something for me. Be right back.”

“Okay,” Natsuki said. She smiled at Shizuru as her friend left the room. Once she was gone, Natsuki looked downward, spotting the puppy who had been listening into their conversation, sitting patiently on the floor. “I wonder, Kiyo-chan… do you even have the slightest idea that something strange is going on here? I must look just the same to you, but am I acting different enough that you’ve noticed?”

Kiyoran tilted his head to the side as Natsuki spoke to him. His eyes looked up at her, and perhaps there was a bit of concern in them. It was hard to tell though; Natsuki still didn’t know him well, so perhaps that was just how his eyes always looked.

“Well, one thing I do know is that both Shizuru and I have been too distracted with this situation for either one of us to think to let you outside. You’re probably about ready to burst,” Natsuki said. She looked around the kitchen, trying to see if she could figure out where she could let Kiyoran out. The only doors here were to the hallway she’d entered from and to the living room. She headed to the hallway to peek into it, spotting the doors to the bedroom and study there, plus a couple others. One of them probably lead to the bathroom, and the other… a closet maybe?

There was also a path branching off to the right, just past the doorway from the kitchen. Looking down it, Natsuki spotted the front door at the end, and an opening to the living room to the right. Okay, that’s where she’d have to take him out then. She would have to put on something more substantial than a nightgown though, and getting dressed here might be its own series of discoveries.

“Haa… sorry, Kiyo-chan. I think it’ll be faster to wait for Shizuru to return so she can take you out,” Natsuki said, turning back to the dog. She moved over to him, then knelt down to give his head a good pat. “You really are being quite patient. I must have really trained you well. That or you’re simply a good little boy.” At these words, Kiyo turned his head upward, trying to lick at Natsuki’s wrist. Chuckling, Natsuki said, “Oh, I think that’s it. Who’s a good little puppy? Is it Kiyoran?” This earned her hand a flurry of kisses, and Natsuki couldn’t help but return the favor. She leaned down to plant a quick kiss on the puppy’s head. “Good boy.”

The sound of footsteps behind her alerted Natsuki to the fact that Shizuru was returning. Her first instinct was to jump up and pretend nothing had happened, but she forcefully suppressed that. There was nothing to be embarrassed about here. She simply turned around to face Shizuru as she entered, giving her friend a smile.

Shizuru smiled back at Natsuki. She had some cards, envelopes, paper, and a pen in her hands, which she set down on the kitchen table. “I see someone has been doing a good job keeping Natsuki company,” she said. This was met with a small yip from Kiyoran, and Natsuki caught sight of his tail beginning to wag. “Ara… come to think of it, it’s about time for your morning walk,” Shizuru continued. “Perhaps Natsuki would like to take him for a walk with me before we get to work on gifts?”

Natsuki cocked a grin at this. “I think that sounds like a great idea,” she said. “Although, would you mind helping me find some warmer clothes I can put on for it?”

* * *

“I have to say,” Natsuki said as she adjusted her coat, “I was kind of expecting this to feel like I was wearing someone else’s clothes.” It really shouldn’t have been surprising that everything fit well, but for some reason it was. Perhaps it still felt like she was in a stranger’s home. Having clothes that fit her perfectly like this did help a bit, though, at making her feel more like she belonged here.

“Ara, was that what Natsuki wanted?” Shizuru said, pausing in the middle of opening the front door. “It’s not too late for Natsuki to change into some of my clothes if she wants.”

“Hah, nice try, Shizuru,” Natsuki said, playfully sticking her tongue out for a moment. “I’m not falling for your teases that easily.”

“Haa... Well, if Natsuki wishes, I’ll try harder at my teases then,” Shizuru replied. She opened the door the rest of the way and headed out.

“Wha- hey, that’s not what I meant, Shizuru!” Natsuki protested. She grumbled for a moment until she felt a tug on her hand. Looking down, she saw that Kiyoran had wandered out in front of her until he’d reached the end of his leash, and was now looking back at her as if to ask why she wasn’t following him. “Haa, sorry, Kiyo-chan. Shizuru’s being a bit of a meanie right now,” Natsuki said, following the dog outside, and then closing the door behind her.

The weather today made it clear that it was definitely a different year from when Natsuki had fallen asleep. There was no way so much snow could have fallen over night. Aside from the extra chill in the air, it was actually rather nice. It actually felt like winter now. And on top of that, it seemed that Kiyoran absolutely loved trudging through the snow - the dog made a point of avoiding the walkways and instead hopped playfully through the deeper snow covering what Natsuki presumed was the grass alongside them. He had a sweater and boots on, but even so he must have been getting quite cold from it.

“Kiyoran really loves the snow,” Shizuru said, turning her head back toward Natsuki. “He’s a mutt of some kind, and Natsuki and I are completely baffled as to what breeds are in his heritage, but I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if one of them were a snow dog of some sort.”

Natsuki let out a chuckle. As Shizuru was speaking, Kiyoran had found a good pile of snow to jump into, and right now all she could see of him was his head. “Come on, you,” she said with a smile. “You’re going to have to do better than that if you want to hide from us!”

As if on cue, Kiyoran ducked his head down and out of sight. For a moment, Natsuki wondered if he were indeed trying to hide, but instead she spotted his legs flying up in the air as it became apparent that he’d decided the best way to play with the snow was to roll over in it.

“We shouldn’t let him get too cold,” Shizuru said. “He doesn’t seem to notice it when he’s having his fun, but once he starts to tire out and the cold makes its way through his sweater, he can become a shivering mess - albeit a happy, shivering mess.”

“Mm,” Natsuki said. She gave Kiyoran’s leash a quick tug to get the dog’s attention. He rolled back over, his head and wagging tail popping up and into view. “Hey Kiyo! I betcha I’m faster at running through the snow than you are. Wanna race, puppy?”

Natsuki gave the dog’s leash a quick tug as she turned to run down the sidewalk. It had been a long time since she’d run in the snow, so she wasn’t nearly as fast as she’d expected, and the dog ended up easily running out in front of her. The little rascal even had the time to turn and wait for her to catch up.

“Okay okay, you win, Kiyo,” Natsuki said, chuckling at him. She reached down to give Kiyoran a congratulatory pat, but he dashed off just as she was about to reach him. “Oh, so that’s what your game is, is it?” she said, racing after him once more.

Running in the cold turned out to be more tiring than Natsuki had expected. She didn’t exactly need to stop - so she told herself - but she felt it was best to take a breather once she reached the street corner. Besides, that would give Shizuru a chance to catch up. Frustratingly, Kiyoran didn’t show any signs of tiring out just yet.

“I said you win!” Natsuki said, sticking her tongue out at the dog, though this quickly proved to be a bad idea in the cold air. Chuckling, she knelt down to try once more to give him a pat, and this time thankfully he didn’t run off. “Good boy, Kiyo-chan~.”

After a minute of patting the dog, Natsuki felt a hand come to rest on her shoulder. Shizuru gave her shoulder a tender squeeze and said, “Don’t worry, Natsuki. He always wins your races.”

A grin crossed Natsuki’s face at this. “As well he should. I’d expect nothing less from my dog. Good boy, Kiyo.” This earned her a happy yip from the dog, which in turn earned him another pat on the head.

“If you two want to play all day, I’m fine with that,” Shizuru said, “but it’s probably better to do that inside, don’t you think?”

“Mm, you’re right,” Natsuki said, standing back up. “Alright, Kiyo. Let’s do your business, and then we can go inside and have a nice, warm Christmas all together.” Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.

**_To be continued..._ **


	3. Tomorrow Afternoon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natsuki learns more about her future life with Shizuru.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all. Apologies for taking so long with this chapter. A combination of vacation and illness kept me from writing, but at last it's done - and just in time for Valentine's Day too! I hope you all enjoy, and I'll try not to keep you waiting so long for the next chapter.

With an exasperated sigh, Natsuki dropped her head to the desk. This just wasn't working. It had seemed like a good idea to try to write something for Shizuru, but now that she was actually in the position of trying to do so, nothing seemed right. She couldn't think of any good stories to tell, and talking about their friendship just seemed like it wouldn't mean anything to a Shizuru that was already married to her.

Married… Natsuki had been trying not to think too much about that part. She'd been so focused on her mission that she hadn't given romance a second thought. If she'd been asked yesterday to predict how she'd end up in five years, she would have predicted she'd still be single. That was all she was used to, and she wouldn't have thought to imagine otherwise. But obviously, something had changed, probably quite a while ago, and then things had proceeded from there.

Thinking about it… Well, she actually wasn't put off by the idea, oddly enough. It was certainly better than ending up with Takeda. Shizuru was a hell of a lot more sweet and sensitive than him, and today was evidence that she could be strong when she needed to be. Not to mention how beautiful she was - today just as much as five years ago. And that accent of hers had a tendency to just make Natsuki melt… with the way those lips of hers moved… even just thinking about it right now…

Natsuki shook her head, trying to calm down the blush that had risen to her cheeks. It hadn't even been a full day since she'd found out about this future; it was far too early to be falling for Shizuru already, wasn't it? Well… she supposed this wasn't exactly a common enough situation that there were rules for this sort of thing, but even so…

In any case, this had solved one thing. Now she knew exactly what she wanted to write in her letter. With a grin, Natsuki got to work.

* * *

Natsuki tapped her pen on the paper a few times, glancing the clock. She could certainly work on this for a while longer if she wanted to; there were still quite a few strike-outs on the paper, even on her fourth attempt now. She could probably type it up if she really wanted to, but a typed letter felt so much less personal. Besides, Shizuru wouldn't be looking for perfection here, she'd be looking for honesty, and Natsuki felt like she'd at least achieved that goal.

With a nod, Natsuki folded up the letter and placed it into the envelope Shizuru had given her. She licked and sealed it, then flipped it over to write "Fujino Shizuru" on the front. It was done. And she still had most of the afternoon left to… do what? She hadn't really thought that far yet.

If she were on her own on a day off, she might try to catch up on homework so her grades didn't slip too much, doing at least the high-value, low effort assignments, but even if her future self had any homework, there was no way she'd be able to do it now. No Orphans to hunt any longer either, or any other special mission - putting aside figuring out what had happened to her, that was, but she was content to leave that until tomorrow, since she was unlikely to find any useful information about it in the future.

When it came down to it, the answer was simple: She had a holiday. She could simply enjoy herself. With another nod, Natsuki pushed her chair back and stood up from the desk. As soon as she did so, she heard a distinctive jingle from her left. She nearly jolted in surprise as she looked over to the source of it; she'd thought she'd been alone in here all this time, but apparently she'd been too engrossed in her writing to notice when Kiyoran had come to join her. As soon as she'd stood up, he'd done so as well, and now he was looking up at her with interest.

Chuckling lightly at the dog, Natsuki said, "Well, Kiyo-chan, what do you say we find something fun to do?" The dog barked in response to this, prompting Natsuki to chuckle and furrow her brow at him. "You know… I'm starting to suspect someone's trained you to bark in response to questions. So tell me, Kiyo: Has Shizuru been encouraging this?"

For a moment, Natsuki got no reply from Kiyoran, and then he tilted his head to the side.

"Hmm, well, you don't respond like that to every question then. It must be something in the tone of voice. Let me see… Do you want to go explore the house, Kiyo?"

"Wuff!" Kiyoran said, standing up and wagging his tail now.

Natsuki couldn't help but chuckle at this. "Haa… who am I kidding, I must have been the one who trained this in you… it's just so adorable. Alright, Kiyo-chan, come on. Let's go see what we can find out about my future life." Natsuki stood and made to head for the door, but she paused in her step. This was silly. She might as well start right here; she'd barely looked around the room since entering it, after all. "Actually… Maybe we can start right here, Kiyo."

Turning around, Natsuki looked back at the desk she'd been working at. Off to the right of where she'd been writing, there was a laptop computer resting on the desk, set up with a power cord and mouse. She'd seen it before and had been considering typing up her letter for Shizuru on it, but she hadn't actually turned it on. Returning to her chair, she opened it up and searched around until she found the power button.

After a minute, the computer woke up, showing Natsuki the login screen. It looked like both she and Shizuru had accounts set up on it, though hers was first, which probably meant that this was her computer. The icons for the two profiles actually looked like they were both taken from the same image, with her and Shizuru's smiling faces cropped out of it.

Natsuki moused over to her own profile and clicked on it. Instead of logging in automatically, a password prompt showed up. "Hmm… I guess that makes sense. I probably take this to university..." Deciding to give her email password a try, Natsuki typed in "MayoLover" and hit enter. No luck. "Hrm…" she said. That password was a bit too obvious, and she probably should it change for her email account once she got back to her own time. But what would she change it to? Whatever that would be, it might also be the password here.

Leaning back for a moment, Natsuki looked upward as she thought about this. She wouldn't go for anything obvious again, so it would be something memorable that no one else - or hardly anyone else - would know. After a moment, an idea came to her. She'd only heard the word once, when her Child Duran was introduced to her, but it had stuck in her mind. It was his real name after all, so she wasn't going to forget it. Leaning forward again, she typed in "Yafusa," and hit enter.

Success! Natsuki grinned as the desktop loaded up. She scanned over the icons, taking them all in. Nothing that looked like a game - even five years on, Japan was still barren of good PC games, it seemed. She'd have to keep an eye out for a gaming system then, so she could see what the next big thing was. But for now, she looked over the rest of the icons on the desktop. None of the programs there were particularly surprising, but one of the documents caught her eye. It was titled " ".

Natsuki opened up the document, curious to see what she might be studying. The title of it soon made this clear: "Analysis of Recent Developments in Aerodynamical Design of Motorcycles." Natsuki's eyes widened as she read this. The "AE" in the title… "Automotive Engineering" maybe? Was that what she was majoring in now?

Intrigued, Natsuki leaned in as she began reading through the paper. The writing style was definitely her own, though after the introduction paragraph, she was embarrassed to find that most of it was going over her head. Letting out a sigh, Natsuki leaned back in her chair. Well, it was a final paper for one of her courses after all; it shouldn't be surprising that it would be pretty advanced.

Well, if this was her major, then she'd certainly chosen well. Great job prospects, interesting, and she'd be able to make some nice tweaks and improvements to her own bike with the knowledge she'd obtain. One more indication that her life was going pretty well in the future.

With a smile, Natsuki pushed herself up from the chair. Glancing over to the side, she saw that Kiyoran had once again popped his head up to look at her. "Alright, Kiyo-chan. This time I'm really going to head off. Come on, boy!" Natsuki patted her thigh to encourage him to follow as she headed to the door. She could hear his tags jingling as he got up to follow her, and she leaned down to give him a quick pat on the head before she opened the door.

Natsuki had planned to head to the bedroom first, but Shizuru's voice coming from the kitchen caught her attention. She wasn't calling out to Natsuki, though; she seemed to be in conversation with someone else. Approaching cautiously so that she wouldn't disturb Shizuru, Natsuki tried to get into a position where she could hear her better. Unfortunately, Kiyoran didn't also decide to be as stealthy, and the jingling of his tags made Natsuki's efforts pointless.

"...sure to let her know," came Shizuru's voice, just as Natsuki was first able to make out her words. She was silent for a bit after this, and then said, "Ara, that's a very nice offer, Mai, but I think it's best I just take care of her myself. I'm already exposed, and for all I know I might be contagious myself, so I think it's best for you to leave it to me."

Contagious? Natsuki blinked. Was Shizuru sick with something. Wait… was Natsuki sick with something!? No longer worried about alerting Shizuru, Natsuki headed into the kitchen. Shizuru was sitting at the kitchen table, and she looked up as she heard Natsuki enter. She didn't look particularly concerned or upset, though. Instead, she simply brought her finger up to her lips, motioning for Natsuki to remain silent. A bit reluctantly, Natsuki did so, waiting for Shizuru to finish her phone call.

"Of course, I will," Shizuru said after a moment. "In any case, it looks like Natsuki needs me right now, so I should get back to her. Merry Christmas again, Mai, Mikoto." After a few seconds, Shizuru ended the call on her phone and turned to Natsuki. "Forgive me, Natsuki. I've just been extending Christmas wishes to all our friends and family."

"Fine, whatever," Natsuki said. "What was all that 'contagious' stuff about? Is there something you aren't telling me?"

Oddly, Shizuru chuckled at this. "Ara ara… No, Natsuki, nothing of the sort. I just figured that the simplest way to explain why Natsuki wasn't available to talk on the phone was to say that she'd lost her voice. Otherwise, everyone would insist on talking with you, and that would certainly lead to more than a few awkward conversations for you."

Natsuki blinked. "...oh," she said. That was… probably for the best. "But… couldn't you have asked me first?" she said.

A sheepish look crossed Shizuru's face. "Forgive me, Natsuki. It didn't occur to me that this might be an issue until my parents phoned, and I had to think up an excuse on the spot for why you couldn't come to the phone. I know you've never even met them before, so that conversation would have certainly been difficult at best."

"Oh… right," Natsuki said. Shizuru's parents. Well of course, if she and Shizuru were married, she'd most likely be in contact with Shizuru's parents. What was their relationship with her like, she wondered? Did they even know she and Shizuru were a couple, or did they have to hide that from her family? They at least knew Natsuki and Shizuru were living together, but they might just think they were roommates. "Um… what kind of relationship do I have with them?" Natsuki asked.

Shizuru raised her eyebrow at this. She motioned to the chair across the table for her, encouraging Natsuki to take a seat. "Well, Natsuki certainly gets along well with them. They think I've done quite well for myself, in fact."

"Oh, so... they know we're a couple then?"

Shizuru nodded. "Yes. I never hid it from them. After all the… all we went through before getting together, there was no way I was going to hide this from them, or anyone else for that matter." Natsuki noticed that Shizuru seemed to glance away momentarily while she said this. It was only a brief slip in her facade, but it was enough to let Natsuki know that there was something going on there.

"'All we went through'?" Natsuki said, furrowing her brow. "What do you mean?"

Shizuru glanced away again, and this time it took a while before she looked back at Natsuki. Her expression was a bit more subdued as she spoke now. "Ara, I suppose there's no harm in telling you, at this point. If you do go back to your own time remembering today, you've already learned enough that things will unfold quite differently for you. It's quite a long story, but in short, I kept my feelings for you hidden. As the situation got more and more stressful - and perhaps with some manipulation from external forces, though I can't say for sure - it eventually broke me. I did… some things that-"

"Wait!" Natsuki said, cutting Shizuru off. Shizuru's gaze hadn't drifted from Natsuki this time, but there was more and more tension in her features as she spoke. She seemed to be fighting to keep her emotions from showing through. Obviously, things hadn't gone well. Natsuki closed her eyes and gave herself a moment to take a few deep breaths. She wasn't going to let herself get worked up here. "Okay," she said at last, opening her eyes. "It's not fair for me to just ask you for the worst part, without even getting any context for it all. Just tell me: Is there any part of it all that you haven't told me - that is, me before today?"

Thankfully, it seemed that Shizuru relaxed a bit as Natsuki said this. "No. I told Natsuki everything long ago, before we officially got together."

Natsuki nodded. "Okay," she said. That was all she needed. "Well, I've obviously forgiven you, so I'll just trust myself on that one. It's not like I've been a saint myself."

Shizuru's eyebrow raised at this, and she looked about to say something, but she stopped herself. After another moment, she said, "Well, the point of it all is that keeping my feelings for you hidden caused a lot of trouble that could have been avoided if I had been honest with you, and so I was certainly not going to repeat that mistake with my parents. Thankfully, they were both quite supportive, even if my father did have to tease me a bit about it."

Natsuki's eyes opened wide at this. "Wait, your father teases _you_?" she said. Now that was certainly interesting news. "What kind of teases?"

Shizuru gave a gentle chuckle at this and shook her head. "Ara ara, Natsuki doesn't think it would be that easy, does she? If she wants some ideas for how to tease me, she's going to have to think of them herself."

"Pfft, fine," Natsuki said, playfully sticking her tongue out at Shizuru. Even so, just the thought of Shizuru being teased by her father was quite cute, and Natsuki couldn't help but smile imagining it.

"So," Shizuru said after a minute. "Is there anything else Natsuki would like to ask me? Perhaps we could go look up the lottery numbers for the week after she gets back so she can make us rich."

"Hah!" Natsuki said, grinning at the thought. "Now that's tempting… Something tells me it wouldn't end up working, though. It seems too easy. And with my luck, some Orphan would come along and destroy all my earnings somehow… or do I have to remind you what happened to my lingerie collection?"

"I'll have you know I've been making that up to Natsuki one article at a time over the past few years," Shizuru said, leaning toward Natsuki. "And my predictions of her taste have been nearly perfect. I bet if Natsuki were to go to her closet right now, she couldn't even pick out which pieces were gifts from me and which were her own purchases."

Natsuki raised an eyebrow at this. At this point, the fact that Shizuru was buying lingerie for her didn't put her off one bit. But did Shizuru really think she could predict Natsuki's tastes that well? Well… maybe. But this still sounded fun. "You have a bet. What are the stakes?" she said.

Shizuru looked momentarily surprised at this, but she recovered quickly. She leaned back and thought for a moment. "How about this: Natsuki can pick out one item that she's absolutely certain she bought for herself. If she's right, I'll treat her to my special mayo-flavoured ramen for dinner. If she's wrong…" Shizuru trailed off, but then her eyes suddenly caught Natsuki's. The look on her face caused Natsuki to involuntarily shudder. She didn't know what that look was, but she had to admit that she kind of liked it. "If Natsuki's wrong, then I get to surprise Natsuki by doing something to her - something sweet, I promise - which she did to me in the past, when I needed it most."

"Hmm…" The way Shizuru had set up the bet, Natsuki had a pretty good chance of winning it. Part of her was a bit worried about what exactly Shizuru might have in mind for if she won, but she'd said it was a surprise, so there was no point in asking what it might be. Perhaps she could propose different stakes instead, but… Well, Shizuru had said it was sweet, so it couldn't be that bad. "Alright," Natsuki said. "You're on."

With a smile and a bit of a twinkle in her eyes, Shizuru got up from the table and led Natsuki back to the bedroom. "Most of your collection is in the dresser, second drawer from the bottom," Shizuru said. She motioned to this drawer as she entered the room. "There are also a few items hanging in the closet, and…" Shizuru trailed off, glancing back to the dresser. A curious expression appeared on her face, with perhaps even a hint of a blush. "Ara, that should be enough for Natsuki to select from."

"Whoa whoa, hold on, Shizuru," Natsuki said, narrowing her eyes. She waited for Shizuru to turn back toward her before she continued. "You aren't trying to cheat, are you, hiding all the ones I picked for myself? Where are the rest of them?"

Shizuru raised an eyebrow at this. "Ah, forgive me, Natsuki, but no, that's not what I'm doing. There are plenty of articles Natsuki bought for herself in the drawer and closet, so please don't worry about it."

Natsuki narrowed her eyes even further and crossed her arms. Shizuru was hiding something, and Natsuki wasn't going to let her get away with it. "You're avoiding the question, Shizuru. Where's the rest of my collection?"

Shizuru closed her eyes and let out a sigh. She motioned to the dresser again. "There are a few special items of Natsuki's in the bottom drawer, as well as some of mine, but I recommend Natsuki simply trust me and…" Shizuru trailed off as Natsuki pushed past her to get to the dresser, not even listening after she'd learned where the remainder of her collection was.

"Alright, now what do have here…" Natsuki said as she pulled open the drawer. Her eyes immediately latched on to some pieces in the center of the drawer. On top was a black demi bra and matching panties, which Natsuki fished out to inspect. Both pieces were lacy and soft to the touch. They were actually nearly transparent, Natsuki noticed as she held them up, but they were quite well-made, so they didn't feel at all flimsy.

"There are actually a couple more parts to that," Shizuru said, grabbing Natsuki's attention back. She was holding up a garter and a pair of stockings, both matching the style of the bra and panties. She must have fished them out of the drawer while Natsuki wasn't looking.

"Aha, okay," Natsuki said. She placed the bra and panties down on the bed, then reached to take the garter and stockings from Shizuru. She tried to picture in her mind how they might look together, but it was a bit hard to get a full mental image without trying them on. Perhaps she'd have to do that a bit later… It certainly was tempting.

The question though, was whether these were of her own choice or if Shizuru had bought them from her. Shizuru did seem to be trying to keep this drawer a secret from Natsuki, so that made her suspect that perhaps everything in here was selected by Natsuki herself. This set was perhaps a bit on the daring side for Natsuki, and it wasn't something she'd wear often - if at all - but she could certainly imagine herself picking it out to add to her collection.

"Okay," Natsuki said. She folded the stockings and placed them and the garter on the bed, then looked up at Shizuru. "I think you were keeping this drawer a secret for a reason, so my guess is that this is my own selection," she said.

Shizuru's expression was unreadable. "Ara, I didn't mean to give Natsuki that impression. That wasn't why I was-"

"Shizuru!" Natsuki said, narrowing her eyes. "I've made my choice - now, is it right or wrong?"

Shizuru slowly raised an eyebrow, and then shook her head. "I bought that for Natsuki for our anniversary earlier this year," she said.

Natsuki cursed below her breath. She grumbled for a moment, and turned to pick up the items so she could return them to the drawer, but then she turned back to Shizuru. "Then what was the big deal about the drawer?" she said.

No answer was forthcoming from Shizuru, and so Natsuki found her eyes wandering back toward the still-open drawer. When she'd opened it, she hadn't really taken in anything apart from the pieces right in front of her, but as she looked over to it now, she realized that her own lingerie only occupied the center of it. What looked like Shizuru's lingerie was to the right, but to the left was…

"Gah!" Natsuki jumped back and turned away from the dresser. She could feel her face fill rapidly with a blush as she tried desperately not to think about everything she'd just seen. "Close it! Close the drawer!" she said. She squeezed her eyes shut, but this only made things worse. With nothing else to look at, her mind was free to conjure up images of all the… _very inappropriate_ toys she'd seen in there. "What is all tha- no! Don't tell me!" she said.

After what felt like minutes, Natsuki felt Shizuru's arms wrap around her from behind. Without letting her mind get in the way, Natsuki let herself slowly relax into the hug. "Forgive me, Natsuki," Shizuru said, giving Natsuki a brief squeeze with her arms. "I should have been more careful about that."

"Haa… no, it's not your fault," Natsuki said. She was the one who'd been so persistent about seeing what Shizuru might have been hiding from her. At this point though, what she'd actually seen there was getting a bit easier to accept - of course if she were married to Shizuru, they'd have an active sex life. There wasn't anything to really be ashamed about there… but that just made Natsuki's own reaction all the more awkward. "Er… Um, don't think… I didn't want to be rude there, sorry…"

"Ara?" Shizuru said. She removed herself from the hug and moved around in front of Natsuki. "What do you mean, Natsuki?"

Natsuki shook her head. "My reaction… that was… I shouldn't have freaked out like that," she said. She could feel her cheeks filling with a blush again, and she couldn't meet Shizuru's gaze, but she pressed forward. "It's not like there's anything wrong there, and I don't want you to think I'm judging or anything, it's just… I never really thought about those things before, so…"

Natsuki felt a finger against her lips. She looked up to Shizuru, and she could feel herself melt a bit under her friend's gaze. "I know," Shizuru said simply. She removed her finger, then leaned back in to envelop Natsuki in a hug again.

Letting out a sigh, Natsuki wrapped her arms around Shizuru in turn. She could really get used to getting hugs like this. "So…" she said. "About that bet…"

"Maybe later," Shizuru said. Her hand slowly began to stroke Natsuki's back. "I did say it would be a surprise after all, didn't I?"

"...Right," Natsuki said. She wasn't quite sure why, but she found herself smiling at this.


	4. Tomorrow Evening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Presents, cuddles, and a special surprise from Shizuru.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once more, my sincere apologies for the delay in getting this out, but here it is at last. I hope you all enjoy!

_Dear Shizuru,_

_I know I can't say anything romantic to you that would compare to something your Natsuki would say, so I won't even try. I want to tell you how much you mean to me as a friend._

_I'm not the type to make friends easily… or, at all, really. After what happened with my parents, I decided not to rely on anyone else. I'm sure you know the story there. I tried to keep anyone from getting close to me, but you ignored all that. When I was at my lowest point, you walked into my life, sat down and starting sipping tea. You acted as if you were meant to be there all along. Which… I guess you kind of were._

_My plan to never rely on anyone ever again was kind of derailed when you made it so obvious that I could always count on you that I never thought to question it. Maybe I should have questioned it. Maybe I would have figured out your feelings for me sooner. Maybe we could have had even more time together. Maybe we still can, if I go back now after all I've learned._

_But even if I never remember any of this, I know that once I'm back to the Natsuki I was yesterday, you'll be the best friend I've ever had, and the one person I could truly always rely on._

_Thank you, Shizuru._

_Your friend,_

_Kuga Natsuki_

* * *

"Um… Shizuru?" Natsuki said. It had been almost ten minutes since Shizuru had started to read the letter. That was more than enough time to read it, multiple times even, but still Shizuru hadn't even looked up from the paper. Her expression was inscrutable right now, so Natsuki couldn't tell if she was flattered, amused, touched, or something else entirely, and not knowing was beginning to get to her.

Shizuru's eyes fluttered for a moment, and then she shifted in her chair and glanced off to the side. "Ara, forgive me, Natsuki," she said. She looked up at Natsuki and gave her a soft smile. Natsuki met her gaze, and couldn't help but melting into the couch a little from something she saw there. "I was just thinking about… well, how sweet it is of you to say things like this, even though before today you never even thought of me as more than a friend. This just proves how much of a good person you are, that you could say such things even when you're in such a situation, and, well… it makes me appreciate you even more."

Natsuki could feel herself melting even more at these words. "Well, it's just…" she said. She stumbled for a minute trying to find the words. "You've done so much to help me get through this, and, well…" Natsuki shook her head. The right words just weren't coming. She met Shizuru's gaze again and simply said, "Thank you, Shizuru."

For a moment, Shizuru shifted as if she was about to stand up, but she held herself back. Instead, she gave Natsuki a soft smile and a slight nod. "Of course, Natsuki. I would do anything for you."

Natsuki wondered for a moment why Shizuru might have been about to get up, but she decided not to question it. She gave Shizuru a nod in turn and said, "So… can I open my present now?"

A wide grin filled Shizuru's face. "Ara, of course you can, Natsuki," she said, a twinkle forming in her eye. She reached out to the coffee table and picked up the gift - where and when she'd been able to wrap it up so nicely in the space of this afternoon, Natsuki had no idea - and she handed it to Natsuki.

Natsuki chuckled softly at this gesture. The gift was already within arm's reach of her; she hardly needed Shizuru to pass it to her. She wasn't going to complain, though. "Thank you, Shizuru," she said.

Natsuki took a moment to inspect the gift. It was a square box, about a foot across, and it was quite light for its size. She didn't feel anything moving around within it as she took it from Shizuru. After peeking over at Shizuru for a moment to judge her expression - inscrutable as always - Natsuki began peeling open the wrapping paper and opened up the box.

Inside the box awaited an adorable plush dog, whose big black eyes nearly made Natsuki let out an involuntary squeak before she managed to suppress it. The blue color of it reminded her immediately of Duran, and she was certain that had to be why she (or perhaps Shizuru) had bought it. Plucking the dog out of its box, Natsuki brought it up to her face and looked into its eyes. Yes, this was definitely Duran.

"Woof!" came a faint sound.

Natsuki blinked. She knew that bark very well. It wasn't the softer, higher-pitched sound of Kiyoran's bark. That sounded just like Duran's bark to her. Natsuki looked from side to side, spotting Kiyoran curled up at the other end of the sofa, where she'd last seen him. No, she hadn't just misheard one of his barks. Maybe… No. It must have just been another dog in the neighborhood who sounded like Duran.

"Did you hear him?" Shizuru said.

"Huh?" Natsuki said, turning to face Shizuru. "Wait… what was…?"

Shizuru smiled softly. "I told Natsuki that her present was going to be a story, didn't I? I think that will help you understand."

Natsuki blinked. And again. "Right," she said. She tried to relax a bit in her seat, giving the plush dog a suspicious look for a moment before she placed it on her lap, and then she turned back to Shizuru.

"Well, as Natsuki is probably well aware by now, given what's happened to her today, it would seem that HiME, Childs, and Orphans aren't the only sources of magic in this world. Years ago, it looked like all the magic had faded, and we were all separated from our Childs, but that wasn't quite the case. The magic was still there; we had just all lost our connection to it.

"Of course, Natsuki found herself quite sad at losing Duran. She knew at least that he was alive and hoped he was doing well, but even so, she found herself missing him. She confided this to me after I'd bought her this toy, which reminded me of Duran. Kiyohime and I didn't have the same connection that Natsuki and Duran did, but I certainly understood it.

"I recommended to Natsuki that perhaps we could take an opportunity for her to officially say her goodbyes to Duran, in hopes that he might hear him wherever he was. He had disappeared so suddenly that Natsuki hadn't gotten the chance to do this the first time. Even if he couldn't hear, it would be good for Natsuki to say it. Natsuki… well, I think she was mostly humoring me, but she agreed.

"Natsuki and I went out to a place that was special for the both of us, and Duran and Kiyohime as well. It was the place where Natsuki revealed to me that she knew about my feelings for her and really didn't mind them, as I had feared. It was also the place where…" Shizuru looked away from Natsuki for a moment. "Well, I don't suppose this will make much sense to Natsuki, but it was where we died and were reborn. Natsuki can thank Midori-chan and Miyu-san for the 'reborn' part, by the way."

Natsuki blinked. "...right," she said slowly. There was probably another long story behind that. Perhaps she'd ask Shizuru about it later.

Shizuru smiled softly, and she continued. "At my urging, Natsuki took out the plushie and said her goodbyes to Duran, using it as a proxy for him. She gave him a pat and a kiss on the head, and just before we were going to leave, she heard a faint howl coming from it. Natsuki thought she was imagining it at first, but when Duran howled again and I heard him as well, we knew it was real. Perhaps it was the lingering magic of that location that helped him find us, but even after we left there, Natsuki has often been able to hear him through that plushie. We might not be able to see him any longer, but he's still there, watching over you from wherever he is."

It was only after Shizuru stopped talking that Natsuki realized that tears were beginning to form in her eyes. "Um, right…" she said, her voice nearly cracking as she spoke. She turned away from Shizuru and looked back at the plush dog. For a long minute, she simply looked at it. Finally, once she could trust herself to speak, she whispered, "Duran?"

"Woof!" came the reply, even louder now. Natsuki pulled the plushie to her chest and hugged it tightly. It was too late now to stop the tears in her eyes, but she wasn't going to waste thought caring about that. Duran was here for her. Even when her mission as a HiME was over, he would still be here for her.

"Thank you, Duran…" she said softly.

Natsuki closed her eyes. For a minute, it was just her and Duran again… like it would have been five years ago today. It wasn't much, but it was enough for her… at least, back then it was. Things were probably different for her now.

Natsuki peeled open an eye, and she looked over at Shizuru. She hadn't said a word while Natsuki was cuddling with her Duran plushie, and her face betrayed nothing but patience right now. Natsuki moved her hand from the plushie and patted the empty space on the couch next to her.

Shizuru raised an eyebrow at this, but only for a moment. She smiled and got up, coming over to take a seat next to Natsuki. "I take it Natsuki likes her gift?" she said.

"Very much," Natsuki said, a smile crossing her lips. Her eyes met Shizuru's for a moment, and it was quite obvious to her right now just how happy Shizuru was. The night wasn't over yet, though. "But now I'm wondering… you'd normally do this in the morning. What would you and Natsuki normally be doing Christmas evening?"

"Hmm…" Shizuru said. She brought a finger up to her chin as she thought. "I suppose we might cuddle up on the couch - much like this, in fact - and watch a movie together."

Natsuki nodded. "Sounds perfect," she said. She glanced at the coffee table in front of her, spotting the multiple remotes laid out on it. "Um… do you want to maybe handle putting it on?" she said. "I kinda haven't figured out the remotes here yet."

The gained her a soft chuckle from Shizuru. "Of course, Natsuki," she said.

* * *

After Shizuru tried for some reason to convince Natsuki that _Die Hard_ qualified as a Christmas movie (it did, but Natsuki wasn't going to let Shizuru win that argument), and Natsuki tried to counter with _Love, Actually_ to see if Shizuru's taste was as sappy as she suspected, the two of them eventually compromised and put on a generic Christmas special. It… well, it wasn't _Die Hard_ , but it was good enough to pass the time. Plus it gave Natsuki a good excuse to cuddle up with Kiyoran for an hour straight, getting in as much quality time with him as she could today.

It took Natsuki longer than she cared to admit for her to realize that while she was stroking Kiyoran's back, Shizuru was doing the same to her. Natsuki tried to pout at this, but she couldn't quite overcome the smile on her face. Damn this woman; she was too sweet to be mad at her. Natsuki let out a sigh and decided to simply let herself enjoy it. It did feel nice, after all.

It wasn't long before Kiyoran let out a yawn and adjusted himself, resting his head on Natsuki's leg. "Mmm…" Natsuki said. She brought her hand to his head and gently rubbed it as she spoke. "I'm really going to miss you tomorrow, Kiyoran. You better still be here when I get to the future the long way, okay? I don't want anything I do differently in the past to keep you from being born. Even if it means I have to go back without any memory of this. If that's what it takes, I'll do it for you, puppy."

"Natsuki…" Shizuru said. Sometime while Natsuki was speaking, her hand had stopped moving, and she'd reached her arm out to wrap it around Natsuki's torso.

Natsuki turned her head to look over at her friend, only realizing belatedly that tears had started to form in her eyes. Why was this getting to her so much?

"It's going to be alright," Shizuru said. Her gaze was firm right now, and there was no doubt in her voice. "Trust me."

"How can you be sure?" Natsuki said, narrowing her eyes. "You know the science. He was made from a particular combination of sperm and an egg. If I so much as breathe differently once I get back to the past, it could be a different sperm, or he might not be born at all. We might still get together in the future and adopt a dog, but it won't be him and… I want him."

Shizuru's expression was unwavering through all of this. "Natsuki," she said simply, and somehow the sound of Shizuru's voice saying her name helped Natsuki calm down a bit. "Let me ask you a question. What do you think is more likely: That five years ago, a magic spell transported you five years into the future for a day, or that yesterday, a spell erased your memories of the last five years for a day?"

Natsuki blinked. "Um…" she said, trying to let her mind process this. It probably would be a lot simpler to erase someone's memories than it would be to enable time travel, but… "No, I remember yesterday - my yesterday. There was that woman I saved from an Orphan. She did this to me then, not now."

"Ara… I've been thinking about that, actually," Shizuru said. "Natsuki told me a story about her chasing down an Orphan on the sidewalk after it attacked this woman. While for me, just yesterday Natsuki chased down a mugger after he attacked a woman on the street, and after returning her purse, the woman said something to Natsuki that she later told me was quite strange, though she just brushed it off at the time. The two stories sound rather similar, don't they?"

Natsuki blinked again. "Well…" Okay, she couldn't exactly argue that they sounded similar. But even so… "Okay, well… you don't know that for sure," she said. "I still feel like I came from the past. It just doesn't feel like I've simply lost my memories."

Shizuru nodded slowly. Her gaze held steady, and she waited until Natsuki's eyes focused on hers once more before she said anything more. "Natsuki…" she said. "Do you trust me?"

"Huh?" Where did that come from? Natsuki blinked again a couple times, trying to process the question. "Wha- no, that's it. I don't mean to say you're lying, I just-"

"Natsuki," Shizuru said again, and the sound of her name caused Natsuki to immediately focus on her friend's face one more. Was it just her imagination or had their faces gotten a bit closer? "Please," Shizuru said, "just answer. Do you trust me?"

"O-of course…" Natsuki said. "What's all this about?"

A moment of silence, and then Shizuru spoke. "I want to try something. I don't know if it will work, but there's a chance that this might help you figure out what's going on here. I can only do it if you trust me though, so I had to ask."

"Oh…" Natsuki said. It certainly seemed like Shizuru's face was getting closer, though Natsuki certainly hadn't noticed her moving. She tried to push that thought out of her mind for now though. "What do you want to try?"

"I think it's time I claimed my reward from our bet earlier today," Shizuru said, a sparkle forming in her eye. "Or is Natsuki going to pretend she forgot about that so she doesn't have to pay up?"

"Wha- I'm not! I remembered!" Natsuki protested, her cheeks filling with red as she spoke. "I just… thought… you forgot… and wasn't going to remind you…" She could feel her face scrunching into a pout as she said this, but she couldn't stop herself.

A melodic chuckle came from Shizuru. "Ara ara… If this were any other day, I might have to punish Natsuki for that. But I think I'll let it slide today. Either way, I still have yet to claim my prize: It's time that I do something for Natsuki that she needs most right now."

"O-okay…" Natsuki said. Either Shizuru definitely was getting closer, or Natsuki's vision had contracted to the point that she couldn't see anything other than her friend's face. She definitely wasn't moving away though, and that wasn't just because she had nowhere to retreat to on the couch.

"Okay," Shizuru said. "Now, I want you to close your eyes, and just trust me." She moved her free hand to the side of Natsuki's face, brushing a few strands of hair to the side. "Try to let your mind empty, and just follow your instincts, okay?"

Natsuki gulped heavily. She could feel her heart beating in her throat right now. Her brain wanted to jump to a conclusion about where this was heading, but that would have meant disobeying Shizuru's request to empty her mind, so she forced herself to try not to think about it. Instead, she closed her eyes and tried to focus simply on calming down her beating heart.

"Just breathe slowly, Natsuki," Shizuru said, speaking with a slow, calm voice. "Just focus on your breaths. Breathe in, one, two, breathe out, one, two, three… In, one, two, out, one, two, three…"

Natsuki allowed herself to follow Shizuru's guidance, slowing down her breathing to match the pace of her friend's instructions. She wondered for a bit about why she was doing was this, but that thought soon left her mind. Soon enough, there was just her, her own breaths, Shizuru's voice, and Shizuru's lips pressed tenderly against hers.

It was a bit harder to breathe like this, but Natsuki didn't find herself complaining. Their lips had met just as Shizuru was asking her to breathe in, so she was hardly struggling for air as they kissed. And as she felt Shizuru's tongue trace along her lower lip, she could even spare the air to let out a soft moan. Her body seemed to be adapting to this quite naturally, in fact. She was able to breathe in at just the right times to keep herself going, so this kiss didn't have to end prematurely.

Eventually though, it did have to end. Shizuru pulled slowly back from the kiss, almost reluctantly. Natsuki's eyes blinked open, gazing questioningly at Shizuru. "Why'd you stop?" she said.

A wide smile crossed Shizuru's face. "Because I think that was long enough to prove my point," she said.

"Huh?" Natsuki said.

What point was Shizuru trying to prove? Natsuki tried to trace her thoughts back to before the kiss, trying to remember what they were talking about. Shizuru was asking her to close her eyes and breathe slowly, and before that saying that it was time she got her reward from the bet earlier, which she brought up as a way to test her idea that Natsuki had just lost her memories instead of having traveled through time from five years ago…

"Gah!" Natsuki said, trying to scramble back away from Shizuru as she felt her cheeks rapidly fill with a blush. "Y-y-you… you! Baka! What was that supposed to prove!?"

Frustratingly (but not unexpectedly), Shizuru didn't seem at all put off by Natsuki's sudden outburst. "It was supposed to prove that deep down, Natsuki is still my wife. When operating on instinct, she kisses back just like she always does."

"Wha- I…You-no, I… Um..." Natsuki sputtered, finally turning away from Shizuru when she realized words were failing her. She looked down at the dog pressed up next to her leg, silently pleading with him to come to her rescue somehow. He did seem to get the message to look up at her, but all he ended up doing was licking at air in the direction of Natsuki's face. Letting out a low growl at her defeat, Natsuki muttered, "Did you have to steal my first kiss to make that point, though?"

"Ara?" Shizuru said. "I don't think Natsuki's one to complain. She stole my first kiss after all."

"What? No I didn't!" Natsuki said, turning her head back to look at Shizuru. The expression on Shizuru's face didn't make it look like she was teasing, though… "...did I?"

Shizuru nodded. "It caught me quite by surprise," she said. A soft smile crossed her face. "But I certainly didn't mind. To this day, it's one of my most cherished memories."

Natsuki blinked. She could feel a warmth in her cheeks again, but she didn't look away. "Oh…" she said, giving Shizuru a weak smile. Her mind was still racing as it tried to take in all of this. "I… well…"

Her eyes drifted back toward Kiyoran, who'd pressed his head against her side as he looked up at her. He was the one who'd started all of this, making Natsuki worry about losing him. But if Shizuru was right, she didn't have to worry about that. He'd still be here tomorrow, and Natsuki's memories would return as well. The only drawback was that she'd be five years in the future… or well, what felt like five years in the future. She wouldn't be able to go back to what she felt was her present.

She'd have memories of it, though. She still would have experienced it. And she'd get to jump forward to this life with Shizuru, their beautiful puppy, and even with Duran hanging around to keep an eye on her.

Natsuki's eyes slowly drifted closed, trying to hold in tears once more. "Thank you, Shizuru…" she said. With a smile crossing her face, she opened her eyes and looked back at Shizuru. "I really do love you… well, I mean… how could I not?"

An expression of utter joy filled Shizuru's face, and Natsuki could feel her own heart warming in response. She only had a second to decide that yes, she did indeed love Shizuru, before her lips were once again claimed in a passionate kiss.

_**The End… for now** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for sticking with this until the end. I really appreciate each and every one of you who takes the time to read this (and doubly so if you leave a comment). Rest assured, I don't plan to stop writing about our dear friends, even if my pace might have slowed down in past years. Stay tuned for whatever I might have coming next! (Which just might include a bonus chapter for this fic, but we'll see.)


	5. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It seems like people would like just a bit more of this to tie up the remaining loose ends. Sorry it took so long to get here, but here you go. I hope you all enjoy it!

It was always pleasant being woken up with a kiss. Usually when it happened to Shizuru, it was a slow, sweet kiss that gently roused her from her dreams. This morning though, it was a quick, firm, joyful kiss that suddenly work Shizuru up. Shizuru reflexively tried to kiss back, but the lips that had awakened her had withdrawn too quickly. Shizuru’s eyes opened, quickly focusing in on the source of that kiss: The smirking face of her adorable wife, Kuga Natsuki.

“Good morning, Zuru,” Natsuki said, her smile slowly widening even as she said these few words. “Or can I maybe say ‘Merry Christmas’? Please?” In an instant, Natsuki lips pouted slightly and her eyes widened, giving what Shizuru liked to call her “cute puppy” expression.

“Ara… I suppose you can, Natsuki,” Shizuru said. Her mind was still a bit behind figuring out what was happening right now, but there was simply no way she could resist Natsuki when she made that expression. Natsuki knew this full well, in fact, but thankfully she didn’t abuse this power.

It only took one second for Natsuki’s lips to split into a grin again. She leaned down to give Shizuru’s lips another quick kiss, just as joyfully as before. Chuckling a bit as she pulled back up, she said, “Thank you, Zuru. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a puppy to say good morning to.”

Before Shizuru could think of anything to say in reply, Natsuki had rolled off of the bed and dashed out the door. While the sudden lack of Natsuki was disappointing, it did give Shizuru a chance to sort out her thoughts.

They’d gone to sleep cuddled up together in bed last night. Even though Natsuki’s memories hadn’t returned, she’d been convinced enough of her relationship with Shizuru that she was willing to cuddle up in bed for the night. Although if Shizuru ended up having to remind Natsuki of what had happened, that “willing to” was going to change to “insisted upon.” Which perhaps wasn’t far from the truth after all, as Natsuki’s manner of insisting was usually quite subtextual.

It wasn’t clear quite yet what was going on with Natsuki today. If Shizuru’s suspicions were correct, then she’d just lost her memories for one day and had now regained them (and was in quite a giddy mood now as well). But it was also possible that Natsuki had actually swapped places with her past self for a day, in which case perhaps her experience in the past had made her be happy to be back in the present.

Although… would it have really been so bad for her then? She could have seen Duran again (rather than just hearing his howl), and perhaps even gone and surprised the past Shizuru with a confession of love. Of course, Shizuru would certainly remember now if that had happened, and she certainly didn’t remember anything like that, so that made it more likely Natsuki had just laid low for the day. Or perhaps it was something more complicated than that… Perhaps if Shizuru had read more time-travel fiction, she would have had a better idea of the possibilities.

In any case, the squeaky sounds of an excited puppy coming from the study were telling Shizuru that right now wasn’t the time to lie in bed asking questions: She had some cuteness to be witness to. Shizuru pushed herself out of bed and took just a minute to use the bathroom before she headed off to trace down the sounds of excitement. The sounds of excited puppy whimpers lead Shizuru to the living room, where she nearly whimpered herself at the sight of Natsuki lying down in the middle of the room, holding a lock of hair in her hand as she waved it at Kiyoran and he playfully pawed at it.

“Ara ara,” Shizuru said, feeling a broad smile cross her face. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Natsuki let Kiyo-chan play with her hair before. Whatever could have brought about this change of heart?”

Letting out a laugh, Natsuki glanced up at Shizuru for just a second before returning her gaze to the little dog who was now rolling over and starting to get tangled up in her hair. “What do you think, Kiyo-chan? I think Shizuru is just pretending not to know so that she can make me tell her why I’m so happy this morning.” Natsuki reached her hand out and placed it on Kiyo’s chest, giving it a quick rub as she spoke. “Oh? Is that right, Kiyo?” Natsuki said, pretending to listen to something the dog was saying. She then looked back at Shizuru and said, “Kiyo thinks your question is just rhetorical and you know the answer quite well. He’s a very smart boy, so I’m inclined to agree with him.”

“Is that so?” Shizuru said. She approached Natsuki and the puppy and sat down beside them. She reached over to gently pat Kiyo’s head as she said, “That’s quite smart indeed. I didn’t even know you knew the word ‘rhetorical,’ Kiyo-chan. But this is one case where I do want to hear the answer from Natsuki.” Shizuru looked over at her love and waited until Natsuki met her gaze before continuing. “So, Natsuki-suki. Would you mind telling your dear, loving wife just why you’re in such a good mood this morning?” she said, giving Natsuki her best puppy-dog eyes.

Natsuki was able to hold Shizuru’s gaze for just a second before she broke. Letting out a laugh and looking away, she said, “Fine, fine, you win, Zuru.” Natsuki rolled onto her side and resumed giving Kiyo a tummy rub as she spoke. “Maybe I’m just a bit overwhelmed. After everything yesterday… seeing my life here for the first time again… falling in love with you and Kiyo-chan all over… and then suddenly having all my memories back of all the great, lovely, sweet, funny moments we’ve had together…” Natsuki closed her eyes for a moment. “I truly don’t think I could be any happier than I am right now. Thank you, Shizuru. I couldn’t possibly ask for a more wonderful wife.”

There were no words Shizuru could speak in response to this that would get across just what it meant to her to hear these words. A weak smile weakly at her lips, her eyelids fluttered as they tried in vain to hold back tears, and the warmth in her heart was nearly overwhelming. Eventually, she gave in, closing her eyes and breathing slowly until she managed to regain some semblance of control over her body.

When Shizuru finally opened her eyes again, she found that Natsuki had done the same. Her love’s emerald eyes sparkled slightly as they looked up at Shizuru, and a small rise of her eyebrows welcomed Shizuru to move in and act on her impulses. The edges of Shizuru’s lips curled up as she complied, leaning down slowly until her lips pressed gently against Natsuki’s. The familiar taste of her wife’s mouth reached her senses, and she took her time slowly moving her lips across Natsuki’s, sliding her tongue across those delicious lips, and simply letting herself absorb as much of Natsuki’s love as she could handle.

When at last she could take no more, Shizuru reluctantly pulled herself back. “...Natsuki is far too sweet to me…” she whispered, the words not even passing through her mind before they left her lips.

“Mmm… Just wait till tonight,” Natsuki said, her eyebrows tilting just slightly inward, “and I’ll show you all the sweetness you deserve and more.”

Shizuru’s cheeks filled with warmth, and she shyly broke eye contact with Natsuki. The tone of her love’s voice made Shizuru’s heart flutter in her chest. “I-ikezu…” she said softly. “Natsuki is going to say that now and make me wait all day? Wherever did she learn to be such a horrible tease?”

A warm chuckle left Natsuki’s lips. She leaned up and planted a quick kiss on Shizuru’s blushing cheek. “I learned from the best,” she said. “Trust me. The wait will be worth it. And in the meantime, we get to celebrate Christmas all over again.”

“Ara… I think I’d like that very much,” Shizuru said. She looked back up at Natsuki and gave her love a smile. She reached a hand up to the side of Natsuki’s face and slowly stroked her fingers through her love’s hair, getting in just one more tender moment before they had to get up from this position. She held Natsuki’s gaze as she twirled a lock of Natsuki’s hair around her finger. Finally though, some shuffling off to the side drew Shizuru’s gaze away from her love and to their sweet dog who’d also managed to get himself tangled up in Natsuki’s hair.

Natsuki let out a chuckle as she glanced back over at Kiyoran. “Tell you what, Zuru. If you can get him untangled without damaging my hair, I’ll make my gift to you tonight just a tiny bit sweeter.”

“Ara, now how could I say no to a proposal such as that?” Shizuru said. After leaning in to plant one more quick kiss on Natsuki’s cheek, Shizuru went to work at carefully extracting Kiyoran from Natsuki’s gorgeous raven-colored hair.

* * *

 

“There we go,” Shizuru said, watching as Kiyoran settled down with his bonus Christmas present: a rawhide bone that Natsuki had stashed away for a special occasion. Once he’d been safely extracted from Natsuki’s hair after having somehow avoided causing so much as a single split-end’s worth of damage, Shizuru and Natsuki had tended to his morning needs and then settled in for their bonus Christmas celebration. “I think he’ll be fine on his own for a bit. Now, does Natsuki think she can tell me just what she does and doesn’t remember from the last couple of days?”

Natsuki reached out her arm to wrap around Shizuru’s shoulders as her wife joined her on the couch. “Right,” she said. She knew this would be coming up sooner or later, and she’d been mulling over how best to explain things to Shizuru. She wasn’t clear on exactly what had happened herself, but she thought she had at least a good enough grasp of it to try explaining it to her. “Well, do you remember what happened after that mugging the day before yesterday?”

Shizuru nodded. “After Natsuki stopped the mugger, I phoned the police, and then stayed with him until they arrived, while Natsuki returned the purse and made sure that woman was alright.”

“Yeah,” Natsuki said. “She was pretty grateful, which I guess shouldn’t have been surprising, but it was a bit much for me. I really had to struggle to convince her that I didn’t need money, or any other reward. It wouldn’t feel right taking money from her after I’d gone to so much trouble to retrieve it for her. But she really wanted to do something for me, and she said… what was the word? I think it was a ‘blessing’ she offered me.”

Shizuru furrowed her brow. “That sounds to me like she wanted to pray for your good fortune.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Natsuki said. She let out a brief chuckle at this, realizing now just how wrong she was. “I figured that would be a good way to let her show her thanks without taking anything from her, so I agreed. Then, she asked me some questions, seemingly trying to figure out if there was any aspect of my life that particularly needed this ‘blessing.’ I, well… I guess you can imagine how I responded to that.”

“Oh yes,” Shizuru said, knowing quite well how hard it was to get Natsuki to open up. Even now, if she wanted to know if there were any part of Natsuki’s life she were unsatisfied with, it would take quite a lot of effort to get to anything more substantial than annoyances at school. She did know of a few things that might fit that bill - Natsuki’s continually-strained relationship with her father, or worries about ever being able to have a child with Shizuru - but those were certainly nothing she’d divulge to a stranger. “So what did you tell her?”

“Well, I told her that everything was fine,” Natsuki said. She let out a sigh and leaned back. “I asked if maybe she could just pray for my general good fortune or something, but that didn’t seem to be what she had in mind. Instead, she asked to look into my eyes for a moment, which seemed to satisfy her that I was telling the truth. She thought about that for a moment, and then… I think she said something like, ‘Fine can always be better. If it’s fine for too long, you might forget just how good it is. It’s always possible to appreciate it more.’ More or less… those weren’t her exact words.

“So, then she asked if I’d like a blessing to help me appreciate things more. I… really should have asked for some more details, in retrospect,” Natsuki said, grimacing now and shaking her head. “But I kind of just wanted to satisfy her, so I said okay. Then, she did… something.” Natsuki trailed off and looked away, trying to remember exactly what happened after that point. Why couldn’t she remember? Natsuki shook her head. “Sorry, I can’t really… remember much from that point on. I guess that must have been when whatever she did started to affect me.”

“That’s alright,” Shizuru said. Out of the corner of her eye, Natsuki caught sight of Shizuru nodding slowly, and she turned back to face her wife. “I think that’s probably enough to piece together what happened. This was her doing, and she felt that if she… let’s say ‘rewound’ Natsuki back to how she was years ago, Natsuki could better appreciate everything she has now. I suppose I can accept that, although I really do wish she had done a bit more to ensure nothing bad would happen. I certainly would have appreciated some warning myself.”

Natsuki let out a brief chuckle at this. “Warning or not, you handled everything wonderfully, my love.” Natsuki brought her hand up to Shizuru’s cheek, gently cupping it as she met Shizuru’s gaze. “And the fact that you could do so without even being warned in advance just proves how amazing you are. You practically made me fall in love with you again in the space of one day. How many people do you think would be capable of that?”

A soft blush filled Shizuru’s cheeks at this. For a long moment, she simply held Natsuki’s gaze. Eventually, she reached up to grasp the hand that was on her cheek, and she brought it to her lips, placing a soft kiss on Natsuki’s knuckles. She gave the hand a squeeze as she looked back into Natsuki’s eyes and said, “So, is Natsuki not mad at that woman for this?”

“Hmm… a bit frustrated that she didn’t go into details about what she was planning,” Natsuki said. “If I see her again, I’ll certainly be complaining about that. I wouldn’t say I’m mad though. It did accomplish what she intended, after all.” Natsuki allowed a grin to cross her face as she thought back on this. “Life with you has been my normal for so long, that I’d nearly forgotten just how impossible it would have seemed back then.

“I have the family I always wished I could have. Parents that truly care about me, without just seeing me as a burden or a means to an end. A lovely, sweet dog, who brings me a smile with every silly new thing I see him doing.” Natsuki’s eyes widened at this comment. “Oh! Speaking of silly things, I forgot to tell you before we went out a couple days ago. As we were getting ready, I caught sight of Kiyo-chan in the bedroom. He was pacing back and forth at the foot of the bed, letting the bedsheets stroke across his head and back as he did so. I think he was in the mood for pats, but we were both busy, so he took it upon himself and found a way.”

Shizuru broke out into a laugh at this. “Ara ara…” she said. Turning over to look at the dog, who had put down his bone when he’d heard his name and looked up at them. “Kiyo-chan, you truly are the best sometimes.” Shizuru patted her lap briefly, and Kiyoran took the cue and eagerly ran over to join his masters on the couch. He spend a brief moment crawling up both of their chests to sniff their faces and make eye contact for a moment before he settled down, lying across both of their laps.

Natsuki reached out and stroked her hand gently along Kiyoran’s back, smiling at him for a moment, before she looked back up at Shizuru. “And let’s not forget the best part of all. I have a wife who’s amazing beyond my wildest dreams. Someone strong enough to take care of me when I’m lost without my memories, able to reassure me that everything is alright, and give me a wonderful Christmas despite all of that. The only person I want to come home to everyday, go to bed with every night, and the only person who’s ever made me want to someday become a mother with.”

Unsurprisingly, Shizuru had gone completely silent at this, the subtle blush on her cheeks and the hint of tears in her eyes giving away her reaction instead. But Natsuki wasn’t done just yet.

“Fujino Shizuru… I’ve promised it before, but I’ll promise it again. I will be yours entirely until the day I die,” Natsuki said, looking deeply into Shizuru’s eyes. “Fujino Shizuru… I love you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m not sure what I’ll work on next. It might even be something original, and not fanfic. If you want to be sure to catch any updates from me, the best idea is to follow me on Tumblr - I’m drleebot there (I can’t give a direct link due to possible filters here, sorry, so just do a search for that and you should find me).


End file.
